Each month, the faculty governing body convenes in Chase’s Memorial Commons for legislative sessions for the college. Unlike other institutions, which may have faculty senates or boards, Bates College has a parliamentary system in which all faculty members participate as the voting and proposing body of the school’s legislation. The faculty is organized into a variety of committees which, along with individual members, can draft, present and vote on legislation at the school. Here, in brief, are some of the current issues before the faculty.
1. Sunsetting of the Russian Minor
Proposed in December of last year, this legislation, if voted by the faculty, would remove the Russian minor as it exists at Bates, essentially removing the Russian department as a whole. The department and its courses have struggled consistently with under-enrollment, as well as lacking enough faculty (both tenured and untenured) to support the department. The legislation went into its second reading in January, at which point the vote was postponed by vote of the faculty until the administration provided a comprehensive presentation of the college’s financial health. Faculty are expected to revisit this after March’s meeting where Vice President of Finance, Geoff Swift, is expected to present to the faculty.
2. Change to Add/Drop and Pass/Fail Deadlines
First read in January, and voted into law this month, this legislation changes the deadlines in which students are able to elect to take a class Pass/Fail as well as add or drop classes in their schedule. As the resolution has been adopted, the Add/Drop period will last seven calendar days after the start of the semester. Past that deadline, Students will now have the option to “withdraw” from a class. A withdrawal will be marked on a student transcript, but not affect their GPA. Students can continue to add classes seven days after the drop window closes. Students can still elect for Pass/Fail grading, rather than letter grades up till the last Friday of classes.
3. President Jenkin’s Remarks on the Trump Administration
February 3rd’s meeting was the first the faculty has had since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20th, President Garry Jenkins offered a message to the faculty concerning Bates’ path forward through the chaos of a second Trump term. He maintained his belief in the plurality of the non-profit sector, and that while higher education as a whole may come under greater scrutiny during the Trump administration, Bates will stay true to its core values. He cited the overturn of Affirmative Action and Bates’ most recent class of 2028 as its most diverse admitted class.
4. First reading of proposed DCS Major
Proposed by the Digital and Computational Studies department, this legislation proposes a tentative major for the department in addition to the current minor track. According to the department, this will not require any new faculty to be hired, and will roughly be 10-12 courses, with “generous cross-listing”. The first reading of the legislation was held this month, and is subject to change before being voted on.
5. Proposed Changes to the Disciplinary Hearing System
Having its second reading this February, the proposed change to the current system of disciplinary process will attempt to streamline the student experience in regards to Title IX and disciplinary processes . Of the most pertinent among the changes is the removal of the live hearing system in place of an independent fact finding investigation, more in line with Title IX formal resolution procedures. This is a contentious issue among the faculty and students with the final vote to be held in March. To read more on the proposed changes along with faculty and student opinions, read more here.
